The Dearborn Community Arts Council has awarded a Mayor’s Arts Award, the Arts Educator Award, to Dr. George Popovich..

Mayor’s Arts Awards are given annually to an educator from the greater Dearborn community who has provided students with exemplary educational opportunities and has shown the importance of the arts and leads by example.

The Mayor’s Arts Awards for 2014, presented by the Dearborn Community Arts Council will be held Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 7:30 PM in Studio A at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

Auditions for the hit musical Hairspray will be held at Henry Ford College (formerly Henry Ford Community College) on Tuesday, September 23 and Thursday September 25 from 7-10 pm in Adray Auditorium located at 5101 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, near Fairlane Towne Center.

Henry Ford College Social Science, Arts and Fitness Division presents THE GOOD DOCTOR, a comedy by Neil Simon.

A hit when it first premiered on Broadway, THE GOOD DOCTOR is Simon’s delightful adaptation of short stories by the playwright Anton Chekhov. Set in Russia in the late 19th century, this series of sketches features a man who sneezes on his boss and can’t stop apologizing, a dentist’s apprentice who tests his skills on a priest with an abscessed tooth, and even an unemployed sailor who charges admission to his own drowning!

Henry Ford College Social Science, Arts and Fitness Division presents THE GOOD DOCTOR, a comedy by Neil Simon.

A hit when it first premiered on Broadway, THE GOOD DOCTOR is Simon’s delightful adaptation of short stories by the playwright Anton Chekhov. Set in Russia in the late 19th century, this series of sketches features a man who sneezes on his boss and can’t stop apologizing, a dentist’s apprentice who tests his skills on a priest with an abscessed tooth, and even an unemployed sailor who charges admission to his own drowning!

Leon Tolchinsky, a young schoolteacher, has found his dream job in a tiny, idyllic Russian village. Upon his arrival, he discovers the entire town has been under a spell of stupidity for two hundred years--and he is the only one who can break the curse. What Leon doesn’t know is that if he stays over 24 hours and fails to free the village’s inhabitants, he too will fall victim. To further complicate matters, he has fallen in love with a village girl, one who is so stupid she has only just learned to sit down.

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The Good Doctor, the current presentation of the Henry Ford College Theatre Arts Program (they’ve just recently dropped the word “Community” from their name), is a nicely rendered student production of a show that makes exceptional use of its old world roots and a modern day makeover. The old world roots come from the short stories of Russian author Anton Chekov. Writing in the latter half of the 19trh century, Chekov produced over 200 stories that stand head and shoulders with The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, his masterworks which have become classics of world theatre.

Eric Bogosian’s, “Drinking in America,” directed by Mary Bremer-Beer of Warren at Henry Ford College through the end of August is an edgy and well-acted collection of adult monologues delivered by characters who use their drugs of choice to convince themselves that their personal delusions are real.

The show runs weekends through Aug. 31, with 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows and 2 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $15, with $12 tickets for students, faculty and staff. To purchase tickets online, go to http://theatre.hfcc.edu.

Before watching the HFC Theatre department production of Ruined, I had only a basic understanding of its subject matter. Despite this, I left HFC Auditorium from the April 13th performance feeling deeply affected, and with much to think about.

HFC’s Theatre Arts raises the bar with its intense and edgy portrayal of Ruined. The show, set in the present day, centers on the war-ravaged Congo and its weary civilian survivors, especially the women, who face violence against their gender in a land without laws.

A stage version of the novel, Bridge to Terabithia, adapted by Katherine Patterson and Stephanie Tolan, opens at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 for the public, and at 10 a.m. Nov. 12 for school matinees in Adray Auditorium at the Mackenzie Fine Arts Center on the campus of Henry Ford College.

The show follows two children, Leslie and Jesse, who learn to trust each other and their imaginations to create a magical, imaginary world in the woods that they name Terabithia. Facing one’s fears and dealing with grief are also lessons interwoven into the show.

A summer sleeper comedy in the wings at Henry Ford College is sure to make you laugh out loud – the theatre department’s Durang Festival, which features four of the playwright’s irreverent and entertaining one act plays.

The HFC Durang Festival runs Thursday through Sunday, with 8 p.m. performances Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees in the MacKenzie Fine Arts Center, 5101 Evergreen Road in Dearborn. General admission is $12 for adults and $10 for students. For more information, go to theatre.hfcc.edu.

Henry Ford College continues a run of “Grease” through April 22 with 8 p.m. performances on Friday and Saturday and a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Highlights of the 29-member cast include strong male dancers in the “Greased Lightning” number, a fun-to-watch high school dance with the full ensemble, and strong vocals in the production numbers.

Henry Ford College opened Jane Martin’s “Vital Signs” Thursday at Adray Auditorium in the Mackenzie Fine Arts Center for a two-weekend run. The collection of songs and monologues is a showcase of intense experiences that challenge the student ensemble, which is directed by Mary Bremer-Beer “Vital Signs” showcases 18 performers in a variety of cabaret style-songs as well as some intense first person monologues.

Beer has brought out the best in a relatively inexperienced student cast. She also treats us to the closing monologue “Truck Stop.”

Henry Ford College’s Virtual Theatricality Lab is a dynamic, risk-taking institute that combines artistic and technological disciplines in a pace-setting program that integrates traditional stagecraft with virtual characters, scenery and props to redefine the nature of live theatrical performance.